A conventional hinge device generally includes a stationary hinge member that is mounted on a door frame, and a rotatable hinge member that is mounted on a door and capable of being pivoted to the stationary hinge member so as to permit rotation of the door between open and closed positions relative to the door frame.
Many patents and publications, several incorporated herein by reference, describe door hinges as well as improvements on typical door hinges. Such improvements include hydraulic door closers, compression springs, and the like, installed within the hinge to facilitate opening and closing of a door.
Unfortunately, the automatically closing door with the conventional hydraulic hinge of the related art is uneconomical since the maintenance/repair job is expensive to perform due to the vulnerable structural strength and durability resulting from the use of the loose spring of the hinge and the leakage of the oil pressure and the like, due to the increasing opening/closing of the door. Further, since the hydraulic cylinder, the hinge axle member interlocked with the hydraulic cylinder, and the drive members are linked in a complicated manner with so many complex parts, they are the main causes of increased production cost together with the associated economic burden from the high production cost and inefficiency of a mass production. The durability is also shortened because the risks of a malfunction or breakdown may be increased due to the many numbers of linked parts as well as the decreased easy assembly of them. The references provided herein are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entireties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,051 describes a door-closer hinge that includes a first flap secured to a door, a second flap secured to a door frame, and an automatic closer as restored by a restoring spring and having a longitudinal casing secured to the second flap. A a rotor vane is operatively rotated with respect to a cylinder vane fixed inside a cylinder filled with hydraulic oil to thereby form a rotary-movement shock absorber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,694 describes a hinge member that includes a rotatable cam element with a first cam face and a slidable cam element with a second cam face. A biasing member is connected to the slidable cam element so as to accumulate a returning force when the second cam face moves away from the first cam face and so as to urge the second cam face to move toward the first cam face when the external force ceases to be applied on the rotatable cam element.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,898,860 describes a hinge device for rotatably moving a closing element includes a fixed element anchorable to a stationary support structure coupled to a movable element anchorable to the closing element for rotating around a first longitudinal axis between an open position and a closed position. The device further includes at least one slider movable along a second axis between a compressed and an extended position. One between the movable element and the fixed element includes at least one operating chamber defining the second axis so as to slidably house the slider, the other element including a pivot defining the first axis. The pivot and the slider are reciprocally coupled so that to the rotation of the movable element around the first axis corresponds the sliding of the slider along the second axis and vice versa.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,943,652 describes a hinge for cold rooms, swing gates or the like includes a stationary support structure and at least a door movable between an open door position and a closed door position. The hinge comprises a box-like hinge body and a pin rotatably coupled to rotate about a first axis between the open door position and the closed door position. Closing means are provided for automatically returning the door, as well as a working fluid acting thereon to hydraulically contrast their action. The closing means comprise a cam element unitary with the pin interacting with a plunger element housed in an operating chamber defined within the box-like hinge body. The box-like hinge body has an elongated shape to define a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0250377 describes a multipurpose hinge apparatus having an automatic return function is provided in which the apparatus is installed between the door and a main body. The apparatus includes a driving mechanism for ascending and descending a piston rod according to opening and closing of the door which is installed in the upper portion of a cylindrical housing. A piston is connected with the piston rod, in which a one-direction check valve is installed in the piston. The piston partitions an upper chamber and a lower chamber and ascends and descends in association with the piston rod. A first oil path communicates with the upper and lower chambers via the lower portion of the piston rod in the central portion of the piston. A compression spring which makes the piston ascend is inserted into the lower chamber. Oil is filled in the chamber. Thus, the hinge apparatus is automatically returned to the initial position with return speed in multiple steps by controlling an amount of oil flowing from upper chamber to lower chamber in multiple steps when a door is closed.
In light of the current state of the art, it would be advantageous to provide a door hinge that that is less expensive to produce and repair and has an increased durability, yet still performs the functions of a more technologically advanced hinge, such as hydraulic dampening and built-in stopper function. It would also be advantageous to provide a low profile door hinge with the aforementioned functions that further includes adjustability features such that the rate of speed and strength of opening and closing could be varied as desired according to the door use and function.